Accessibility Plan

Established: October 13, 2015
Revised: December 2023
Revised: December 4, 2020

Intent

In accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), Ontario One Call is committed to providing a work environment that is accessible and inclusive to all persons who work or visit our workplace. Ontario One Call will work with the individual that requests accommodation in an effort to ensure that the measures taken are both effective and mutually agreeable, by making adjustments or modifications to the work or work environment, up to the point of undue hardship. Accommodation may be temporary, or permanent, based on the requirements of the individual. The following outlines the company policy and plans Ontario One Call has put in place to act upon our obligations to maintain an inclusive facility, service and employment environment.

Definitions

Ontario One Call will strive to ensure that its policies, practices and services provided are consistent with the following core principles as outlined in the AODA.

Disability: Under the AODA, the definition of “disability” is the same as the definition in the Ontario Human Rights Code:

• any degree of physical disability, infirmity, malformation or disfigurement that is caused by bodily injury, birth defect or illness and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, a brain injury, any degree of paralysis, amputation, lack of physical coordination, blindness or visual impediment, deafness or hearing impediment, muteness or speech impediment, or physical reliance on a guide dog or other animal, or on a wheelchair or other remedial appliance or device;
• a condition of mental impairment or a developmental disability;
• a learning disability, or a dysfunction in one or more of the processes involved in understanding or using symbols or spoken language;
• a mental disorder; or
• an injury or disability for which benefits were claimed or received under the insurance plan established under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997.

Ontario One Call strives to ensure that persons with a disability are provided consideration and support to safeguard their rights to dignity, independence, integration and equal opportunity.

Person(s): For purposes under the Accessibility Plan, persons can include employees, customers or visitors.

Dignity: Goods and services are provided in a manner that is respectful to persons with a disability and does not diminish the person’s importance.

Independence: Accommodating a person’s disability means respecting their right to do for themselves and to choose the way they wish to receive goods and services.

Integration: Persons with disabilities can access all goods and services. This may require alternative formats and flexible approaches. It means inclusiveness and full participation. This is a fundamental human right.

Equal Opportunity: Service is provided to persons with disabilities in a way that their opportunity to access goods and services is equal to that given to others.

Application of This Policy

Information & Communication

When communicating with a person with a disability, Ontario One Call will do so in a manner that takes into account the person’s disability. Ontario One Call commits to provide training regarding how to interact and communicate with persons with various types of disabilities.

Currently our service is provided to the public via phone and web. Company wide internal communications are also provided electronically and in person. If further accommodations or explanation are needed at any time please contact Human Resources.

Service Animals, Support Persons and Assistive Technology

Ontario One Call welcomes service animals, support persons and assistive technology utilized by persons with a disability. There may be some restrictions to service animals in extenuating circumstances so please contact Human Resources for more information if needed.

Service Animals: Service animals accompanying persons with a disability are welcome within our facility if not otherwise excluded by law. There may be rare circumstances where, for reasons of health and safety of another person, allowing a person with a disability to enter a premises accompanied by a service animal needs to be considered. Examples of such situations include but are not limited to: a) where chemicals and/or equipment present hazards to other persons and/or to the service animal; and b) where a person is allergic to animals and adversely affected if they are in close proximity to a service animal. In such circumstances Ontario One Call will examine alternate measures available to enable the person with a disability access. Please note that the use and safety of the service animal is the responsibility of the person with a disability.

Allergies and Other Health and Safety Concerns: If a health and safety concern presents itself, for example, in the form of a severe allergy to the animal, Ontario One Call will make all reasonable efforts to meet the needs of all individuals. Pursuant to the company’s obligations under the Human Rights Code and the Occupational Health and Safety Act, each customer’s accommodation needs will be considered on a case-by-case basis, up to the point of undue hardship.

Due diligence needs to be paid to address health and safety requirements. For example, if a person’s health and safety could be seriously affected by the presence of a service animal on the premises open to the public, management must fully analyze all options for safely accommodating the service animal. Options could include creating distance between the two individuals to eliminate in-person contact, changing the time the two individuals receive service, or using air purifiers and other measures that could allow the person to use their service animal on the premises.

In very exceptional circumstances where a service animal becomes out of control, causing a clear disruption or a threat to the health and safety of others, and the animal’s behaviour is not corrected by the owner, a person with a disability can be asked to remove their service animal from the premises.

As a courtesy, particularly if the person and service animal have been in attendance on the premises for a long time, staff may ask whether the animal requires water, may designate an area in which the service animal can relieve itself, or ask whether the staff can be of assistance pertaining to the service animal.

Support Persons: Ontario One Call welcomes support persons accompanying persons with a disability in order to assist in accessing goods or services or for the purposes of providing support with mobility, personal assistance or communication. Individuals who are accompanied by a support person are encouraged to inform Human Resources of their companion.

Assistive Technology: Personal assistive technologies are permitted and unrestricted in all areas of our facility to which the public have access, except when subject to operator safety and/or the technology may pose a threat to client privacy. Please note that the provision, use and safety of various assistive technologies is the responsibility of the person with the disability.

Employment

Ontario One Call is committed to fair and accessible employment practices and is willing to provide accommodations at any point in the employment relationship, from recruitment, to advancement, and returns to work.

Recruitment: Ontario One Call is an equal opportunity employer. Should applicants require accommodation at any time during the recruitment process, due to a disability or medical need, they are encouraged to notify Human Resources by phone, fax or email.

Career Development, Advancement & Performance Management: When providing career development or advancement opportunities, Ontario One Call will do so in a manner that takes into account the accessibility needs of its employees. Performance Management processes will take into consideration each employee’s accessibility needs and may be customized to ensure that reasonable accommodations are made to ensure each employee at Ontario One Call has an equal opportunity for success.

Return to Work: Ontario One Call has a Return to Work program that includes a process for developing individual accommodation plans and return-to-work programs for employees that have been absent due to a disability.

Emergency Response

Ontario One Call has posted in all of its facilities clearly labelled emergency exit plans. These plans are available in alternate electronic format upon request. In addition, upon orientation, all employees are advised of emergency evacuation procedures. This information is available to all visitors to Ontario One Call.

Ontario One Call is committed to providing customized emergency response plans to employees upon request. Plans are developed in collaboration with the individual employee and their medical provider if required. All personal information collected is kept secure and dealt with in a confidential manner. Details regarding individual emergency response plans are disclosed only to the individuals who need the information to perform the accommodation process.

Facilities

Ontario One Call offices have been designed to be fully accessible and free of physical barriers. Monthly workplace inspections have incorporated checklists to ensure the facilities remain barrier free.

Online Educational Material and Training Resources

Ontario One Call strives to ensure that all resources developed for the purpose of education and training are created with the intent of being fully accessible.

From time to time Ontario One Call releases webinars to the public to educate members, excavators and the general public on best practices, new tools available to them and other pertinent information. These webinars are recorded and made available on the company website and YouTube, to ensure closed captioning, audio and optical zoom features are available to those who require it.

Ontario One Call also releases courses, like The Professional Locate Administrator Course (PLAC). These courses are designed to take into consideration accommodation needs and includes a variety of features including voice over, closed captioning, zoom in and out, pause and replay.

Web Platform and Digital Services

Ontario One Call is committed to ensuring accessibility of our web platform and digital services as much as possible. The company will continue to implement the OntarioOneCall.ca platform to ensure it is accessible and remains so by evaluating the content and applications every two years.

All aspects of the Ontario One Call Ticket System portal is designed and undergoes regular testing to ensure the material is in as accessible and user friendly format as possible. To ensure accessibility for all, in the event the Ticket portal framework limits accessibility, Ontario One Call will provide alternate methods of ticket submission, for example allowing access to the system through an agent assisted submission process over the phone.

Requests for Medical Information

In order to support an accommodation request, Ontario One Call may request medical information. Human Resources will make requests for medical information only if the request clearly relates to the accommodation being sought or if the employee’s needs are complex or unclear. The focus of the request for information will be on the functional limitations associated with the employee’s disability, rather than the diagnosis.

Medical information should include the following:

• That the person has a disability;
• The limitations or needs associated with the disability;
• Whether the person can perform the essential duties or requirements of the job, with or without accommodation;
• The type of accommodation(s) that may be needed to allow a person to fulfill the essential duties or requirements of the job; and
• Regular updates about when a person expects to come back to work, if they are on leave.

Notice of Planned or Unplanned Disruption in Services and Facilities

In the event of a service disruption to employees or members of the public, it is the responsibility of individual service areas (i.e. Human Resources, IT Services, etc.) to take reasonable steps to report such disruption in a timely fashion through appropriate information channels. Such channels include, but are not limited to, the Ontario One Call website, internal SharePoint website, temporary signage on or immediately adjacent to the affected area, and/or communication via email to affected individuals or groups. In accordance with the AODA, notice must be conspicuous and indicate any alternatives that exist to allow access to persons with disabilities during the disruption.

The required information necessary for any communication of a temporary disruption may include: the time, date and location of the disruption; information about the reason for the disruption; anticipated duration of the disruption; descriptions of alternative facilities or services, if any; and contact information for the responsible service area.

Training

Ontario One Call will provide training to employees on Ontario’s accessibility laws and on the Human Rights Code as it relates to people with disabilities. Training will be provided in a way that best suits the duties of employees.

All current employees have been trained and refresher training is provided on a regular basis.
All new employees are provided training upon orientation to their new job.

Such training include:

• A review of the purposes of the AODA and its requirements;
• A review of the Ontario One Call AODA Policy & Plan
• How to interact and communicate with persons with various types of disabilities;
• How to interact with persons with disabilities who use an assistive device or require the assistance of a service animal or a support person;
• What to do if a person with a disability is having difficulty in accessing services;